Jon Voight Joins "24"

In his first series role in 40 years, Jon Voight has signed on for the upcoming seventh season of "24." On the Emmy-winning Fox drama, Voight will play Jack Bauer's (Kiefer Sutherland) uber-nemesis who is pulling the strings behind next season's terrorist threat.

The character will be introduced during "24's" two-hour Season 7 prequel and will be featured heavily in the latter half of the season.

The prequel, now shooting on location in South Africa, is slated to air November 23rd, with Season 7 of the series kicking off in January.

The tapping of Voight marks the first A-list villain casting on "24" since Season 1 when Dennis Hopper appeared in the final episodes as Serbian nationalist Victor Drazen.

Voight did several TV guest spots early in his career -- including a three-episode stint on "Gunsmoke" between 1966-69 -- until his movie career exploded with "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969.